Russian mobile operator recognizes the Kuril Islands as Japanese
Mobile operator MTS congratulates its subscribers flying into Yuzhno-Kurilsk airport on their arrival in Japan.
The provider provides communication services at an international tariff, designating the Kuril Islands as an international roaming coverage area.
This was reported by the Sakhalin website SKR, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Welcome to the Land of the Rising Sun! “You have the “Foreign” option enabled,” the provider informs.
The MTS representative explained the scandalous SMS due to the proximity of Yuzhno-Kurilsk to the border zone.
“The phone is registered in the network that is stronger, which is why registration occurs in the network of the international operator. Since the use of services in international roaming was recorded, there was a write-off for the Zabugorishche service,” says a message from an MTS representative.
Kaliningrad journalist Andrei Vypolzov claims that the situation is similar on Russia’s western borders.
“To be honest, this is so-so news. Usual cross-border affairs when registration takes place in the network of an international operator. When Kaliningrad residents approach Bagrationovsk or Sovetsk, receiving text messages “Welcome to Poland!” and “Welcome to Lithuania!” Accordingly, no one talks about the “separatism” of mobile operators. Except maybe the Japs,” Vypolzov wrote in his telegram channel, noting that the Japanese media were “too overexcited.”
However, the editors of RIA “Sakhalin-Kuril” did not calm down and sent another request to the press service of the MTS company - asking them to explain why the Japanese signal at Kunashir airport is stronger, if the nearest Japanese city of Rausu is more than 40 kilometers away, while to Yuzhno-Kurilsk – 16 kilometers, and what measures are they taking to ensure that Russian tourists arriving on the island do not have to pay roaming fees.
In the meantime, Kuril tour operators are asking tourists to turn off their phones. For those who forgot to do this, the company will return the money if you write to the customer service.
“Our entire island is focused on warning people about this problem. If you and I find ourselves on the border of Georgia, perhaps there will also be towers on the other side. But our question is political. For us it's like a red rag. If these were different relations with some other country, we would probably be calm about it. If there is at least some connection, it is better than no connection. But the greeting “Welcome to Japan” makes us all sick,” said Oksana Riznich, who works in tourism.
Japan celebrates “Northern Territories Day” every February, dedicated to the Kuril Islands. Last year, a scandal erupted in the Krasnoyarsk Territory when a Japanese diplomat donated the Nipponica magazine, which is published by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, to the local history museum in Minusinsk. In this gloss, in the article “Regional diversity of Sikki” (type of painting), the islands of Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan were designated as Japanese territory.
At one of the meetings in the government of the Sakhalin region, a map was shown on which the Kuril Islands (Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup) were painted in the same color as Japan. The employee who provided it was fired.
In December, the rules for drawing green cards were published on the website of the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the US State Department, which states that the United States considers Russians born in the South Kuril Islands to be natives of Japan.
In July 2020, Russia adopted amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, enshrining the sovereignty and territorial indivisibility of the country. In Yuzhno-Kurilsk, a memorial plaque was erected in honor of this event.
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